Some movies include gore to add poignance to a traumatic scene. Other movies use gore as an anti-violence message to viewers. And then there are movies that double down on gore to gross out their viewers with a bloody show of shock and awe. Sometimes that show is just for comedic effect.
But one thing is for certain, these movies are designed to entertain. Movies like The Evil Dead and Midsommar are the reason why special effects teams never have to worry about job security. Why film a plain ol' death scene by the books when you can order fake blood by the gallon?
The Evil Dead (1981)
It was so hard to choose just one out of the franchise, so they're all included in spirit, but the original is the film that started it all. Written and directed by Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead sounds like a cliché horror film. 5 college students take a weekend trip into the woods and rent a cabin, but they are soon met by an unspeakable evil after a curse is unleashed from a spellbook. However, there isn't anything cliché about the film's execution.
Star Bruce Campbell takes his role as Ash Williams and runs with it, delivering snappy one-liners as horrid monsters make an attempt on his life. It is obvious everyone in the production had a blast making the film, and that feeling is contagious while watching. The Evil Dead wasn't a moneymaking blockbuster at the box office right away, but it has gone from a cult hit to a certified horror-comedy staple.
Hostel (2005)
Who's up for a nice relaxing trip to Europe? Hostel tells the story of two best friends, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) as they make their way through Europe on a backpacking trip. The duo then decide to make their way to Slovakia where they meet an insidious and brutal organization that preys on tourists.
Hostel is bloody, unrelenting, and sometimes repugnant. Body part and organ displacement is a plenty in this movie. But the film also knows how to have a good time. It is unashamed in its violence, but knows how to let the events unfold in a way that still makes it all entertaining. Dark jokes and surreal twists break the monotony of the horror.
Dead Alive (1992)
It's best not to take this film by Peter Jackson too seriously. After Vera Cosgrove (Elizabeth Moody) is bitten by a rat-monkey at the zoo, she is turned into a bloodthirsty zombie. Despite her son, Lionel's (Timothy Balme) best effort to keep her contained, Vera escapes and infects her neighborhood with the zombie virus. Chaos promptly ensues.
When 300 liters of fake blood are used for just one scene alone, there may just be a tad amount of gore involved in the movie. Dead Alive does not pull any of its punches, but it also doesn't pretend to be something that it's not. It is an endearing movie that supplies enough laughs to make any queasy viewer feel a little better about the violence.
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
For any fan of Rob Zombie, this movie should be at the very top of any movie he has directed. Zombie took what worked for him with House Of A Thousand Corpses and sharpened just about every detail. Following the Firefly family after they become hunted by the police, The Devil's Rejects takes place on the road as they make their break for freedom.
The Devil's Rejects is a film filled with gore and depravity, but it is not without its own sense of flair and wit. Each member of the Firefly family has their own distinct personality and while they may be committing atrocities, hacking up, and shredding victims to pieces, they do it with so much fun.
Hellraiser (1986)
For any movie lover that always yearns to take a shower after watching a film, Hellraiser is a must-watch. When Frank (Sean Chapman) buys a puzzle box from a shady merchant that unlocks a whole different world, he is killed and trapped inside the box. After a freak occurrence, Frank manages to escape the box, and the monsters known as Cenobites who keep him captive. But the Cenobites soon coming looking for Frank.
Hellraiser is a horror movie classic, and rightfully so. The sense of dread throughout the film is well-crafted and the appearance of the Cenobites could make anybody's skin crawl. There also can't be pain without gore, and Hellraiser certainly delivers on that.
Midsommar (2019)
Looking to maintain his momentum after his critically acclaimed film Hereditary, Ari Aster kicked his gore machine into full gear with follow-up effort. Midsommar is about 5 friends who travel to rural Sweden in order to take part in a fantastic midsommar festival inside a small community. The group quickly realizes that the community harbors some very dark secrets.
One headache inducing scene in particular certainly packs a punch. The violence in the film is jarring and brutal, but it never feels cheap or overly gratuitous. Most of Midsommar takes place in broad daylight, so every horrific detail is fully on display, but it is almost impossible to look away. And that's just the way Aster likes it.
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
What starts out as a by-the-books Western quickly turns into a sadistic horror film that may cause viewers to look away when events get turned upside down and the plot is ripped in half right down the seam. Bone Tomahawk tells the tale of the town of Bright Hope. When townsfolk start to disappear, a search party led by Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) head to the nearby mountains to look for signs of life, instead they find nothing but death and debauchery.
With a title like Bone Tomahawk, it should come as no surprise that brutality and gore would be featured front and center. But Bone Tomahawk is not just a one-man show. The film offers great performances from it cast as it tells its elongated yet taught story.
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter never seems to fail when it comes to delivering a visceral movie experience, and The Thing is no different. Taking place in a remote Antarctica research station, scientists are forced to battle an alien creature who has the capability to assimilate with any living thing and take their shape. As time goes on, the men begin to turn on each other, suspecting that anyone could be the alien.
The Thing wastes no time in getting the action and the gore started. Utilizing grotesque practical effects, the alien's shapeshifting ability creates incredible creature designs that are as disgusting as they are ingenious. Watching the events unfold in The Thing more like wanting to see what the special effects team can come up with next than following the story.
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010)
When it comes to movies, surprise twists can be a mixed bag. So when filmmakers are able to take a cliché-ridden story and effectively put their own unique spin on it, it is always a good surprise. Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil takes a seemingly predictable concept and throws it out the window. When best friends Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) reach their newly purchased wooden cabin, they unknowingly scare a group of foolhardy college students, who think Tucker and Dale are bloodthirsty killers.
The movie comes in at a lean 89 minutes, and it does not waste a single minute. When the college students feel that there is no other option but to confront Tucker and Dale, they soon meet their demise in comedic and outrageous ways that deliver on the gory goods. Viewers may not be able to look at a woodchipper the same way again.
Ready Or Not (2019)
Like Evil Dead, sometimes a movie just needs to let loose and have some fun. Ready Or Not is a film that is never unsure of what it is, a crowd-pleasing horror comedy that is unafraid to play for laughs. The story is simple. Whenever a person marries into the Le Domas family, they must play a game that is randomly selected by a machine. Unfortunately, for Grace (Samara Weaving), the game that is selected for her is a deadly game of hide and seek, where her new in-laws must find and kill her by daybreak or heads will roll.
Ready Or Not is never short on laughs. Although the stakes couldn't be higher, jokes and zippy one-liners are well stocked by all characters. But it isn't until the jawdropping finale that the film lives up to its gory reputation. There is no holding back as the family lets the game get to their head.